Aldi has grown since its birth in 1961 from a German-based grocer into an international supermarket chain that has close to 2,000 locations in the U.S. alone. It’s succeeded with a strategy of low prices on a smaller selection of products than you might find at a typical mega-supermarket, but we’re writing about the company on this site for an offering that seems at odds with that strategy: a gaming PC.

Aldi’s UK customers can now pick up the Medion Gaming Desktop PC or the Gaming Notebook through the company’s website, each selling for £949.99. The Medion brand is a longstanding German computer company that Lenovo purchased several years ago to expand its European reach. It already sells computer and electronics through Aldi and other UK retailers (in addition to Western Europe and Australia), but the gaming systems are new to the UK site.

As you might expect the Medion gaming systems Aldi is offering are pretty good values, if not exactly designed for gamers on very tight budgets. In either case, you’re getting a system built around an Intel Core i5 processor — the six-core i5-9400 for the desktop, and the i5-9300H for the laptop — as well as discrete Nvidia GeForce graphics — the RTX 2060 for the desktop, and the GTX 1660 for the notebook.

The Gaming Desktop PC also comes with 16GB of RAM, a terabyte solid-state drive with PCIe interface, neon blue accents to its chassis, and even a CD/DVD rewritable drive. The Gaming Notebook features even more storage than the desktop version, coming with both a 512GB PCIe SSD and a terabyte hard drive, though it lacks the optical drive. It, too, features 16GB of memory, and its 15.6-inch display has 1080p full HD resolution (1,920×1,080).

Interested stateside buyers may want to consider an equivalent Lenovo system, as it’s questionable that these PCs would ever see the light of day in the U.S., considering that Aldi doesn’t have online ordering available through its U.S. website. UK readers can feel free to let us know in the comments section below if you would ever consider purchasing a gaming PC from Aldi.

Barnes & Noble released its latest Nook tablet, the Nook Tablet 7-inch, on Black Friday in its latest attempt to battle the success of Amazon’s popular Fire tablets. With a low price of just $50, the new Nook was supposed to compete with the dirt-cheap Fire 6, but B&N’s slate has been riddled with issues from the start.

Shortly after its launch, the Nook was found to be loaded with ADUPS firmware that could allow hackers to spy on the device’s user, presumably thanks to the Chinese manufacturer B&N used to produce it (a cost-cutting break from its partnership with Samsung and its Galaxy brand of tablets). The bookseller claims by launch it had updated the Nook to a version that did not track user data and was working on removing it from the device altogether, but it was hardly an auspicious beginning for the tablet.

Then more recently a poster on Reddit claimed to be a Barnes & Noble retail employee and claimed that the new Nook had been recalled from stores. The company’s website has also been updated to reflect that the Nook Tablet 7-inch is now “not available.”

While speculation was that B&N was unable to rid the Nook of the ADUPS spyware satisfactorily, the company told the Android Police website that it pulled the tablet from sale for an unrelated reason. It claims that three incidents of the casing of the Nook’s charging adapter breaking led to the halting of retail sales. No injuries were reported, but Barnes & Noble says that existing owners can charge the Nook via a computer instead and that the company is sourcing a replacement AC adapter.

This incident is just the latest woe for the Nook brand, which Barnes & Noble started several years ago as the tablet market spiked in popularity. Over time, the struggling platform found itself spun off, then partnered up with Samsung’s tablets. You might think this new hardware failure would finally close the book on the Nook, but we’ve thought that a number of times over the last few years, and B&N has always written another chapter for it. We’ll see what happens when the page is turned once again for the Nook.

First there was the Compute Stick, Intel’s mini-computer that resembles a pack of gum. Now the chip giant is releasing a PC that’s even more diminutive than that device.

The new Compute Card is even thinner than the Compute Stick, looking more like a slightly bigger, thicker credit card. It’s a mere 5mm thick, but still manages to house most of the essentials for a running computer.

Whereas the Compute Stick was at least partially marketed to consumers looking to stick a full-fledged PC in the HDMI port of their HDTV for living room computing tasks, the Compute Card is designed to be added to connected devices as a module that’s easy to swap out when you want to upgrade its “smart” capabilities.

Despite its dimensions, the Compute Card still fits most of the guts of a typical PC within its narrow frame. That even includes Intel’s latest Core processors — the seventh generation or Kaby Lake CPUs — rather than the low-performance system-on-a-chip that Internet of Things devices typically ship with. It also naturally comes with built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to connect the smart object with the greater world, along with what the company is calling a “USB-C plus extension” to connect the Compute Card with products.

The fact that the Compute Card features most of what you need from a bare-bones PC will naturally lead some to wonder if Intel plans to offer this as a product that consumers can use for their own computing tasks, rather than it being placed in a smart refrigerator or vending machine. While the company is clearly marketing the Compute Card as an IoT platform, it’s not inconceivable that you could place it in a compatible dock and use it like the Compute Stick or other PCs on a stick.

The companies that Intel lists as partners for the platform should give hope to those who might want a Compute Card of their own. It has Dell, HP, and Lenovo lined up to help it create products that can make use of the Compute Card, and obviously those manufacturers are much better known for building PCs than kiosks and digital signs.

Intel says the Compute Card will be available by the middle of the year, so we’ll wait to see what compatible devices are announced and whether docks to use it as a dedicated PC emerge on the company’s road map.

While it may not have completely lived up to its lofty name, Intel’s Next Unit of Computing, or NUC, has been as reasonably successful as a mini-desktop PC can expect to be in the second decade of the 21st century. Proof of that can be found in the mere fact that the chip giant continues to refine the platform (rather than abandoning it like many other projects), with CES 2017 the time and place for the announcement of NUC’s latest refresh.

Intel starts by moving to the dark side, giving its five new models a dark gray housing instead of the white that most previous NUCs wore. It’s also packing them with new Kaby Lake processors, the seventh generation of the company’s Core processing technology. In particular, two smaller NUCs can either have a Core i3 or i5 CPU, while a bigger trio of units can come with either an i3, i5, or i7 processor.

These won’t really compete with Steam Machines and other console-like gaming PCs, as they are too small for discrete graphics cards, instead relying on integrated graphics. In the case of the Core i5 and Core i7 versions, those integrated graphics are of the Iris Plus variety, which supposedly offers 65 percent faster 3D performance than its Iris Pro predecessor. These versions can provide an external graphics solution via the Thunderbolt 3 port, allowing you to connect an Alienware Graphics Amplifier or Razer Core if you really need more gaming power.

The faster versions have one further advantage: Support for Intel’s forthcoming Optane storage technology, which the company claims is several times faster than current SSDs. All new NUCs include an M.2 slot for storage, but the taller models have room for a 2.5-inch drive for additional storage. You also get four USB 3.0 ports, a pair of DDR4 memory slots, built-in 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and, as befits a system designed for home entertainment, an HDMI 2.0 port.

Pricing has not been announced for these new NUCs, but PCWorld reports that models using Core i3 processors will be available in the next few weeks, while the remaining versions will ship later in 2017 Q1.

Lenovo has jumped the gun on CES by releasing info on its latest ThinkPad updates a few days before the annual electronics trade show. While the PC manufacturer isn’t adding anything as radical as the Yoga Book’s Create Pad hybrid input device, its flagship laptops will receive some of the latest computing technology as well as some other improvements.

Select ThinkPads will be the first computers to include Intel’s Optane storage technology, which is reportedly several times faster than current SSD tech. The bad news? These laptops will only have 16GB versions of the Optane drives, so they will be used in tandem with traditional hard drives. They will also appear later in 2017 than new non-Optane ThinkPads as the drives are finalized.

Lenovo is further leaning on Intel for its processors, shipping new ThinkPads with the latest Core processors. the seventh-generation “Kaby Lake” CPUs. It’s also continuing the trend of PC makers jumping on the USB-C bandwagon as well as supporting Thunderbolt 3 connectivity. The brand-new ThinkPad T470 and T570 will be equipped with Windows Hello cameras that can perform facial recognition to supplement their fingerprint readers. (See a rundown of all the new models at our sister site CNET.)

The ThinkPad’s touchpad gets an update via software thanks to new support for Microsoft’s Precision TouchPad drivers, which should provide finer control over inputting touchpad gestures. Microsoft will also be supplying Windows 10 Signature Edition for 2017 ThinkPads; given Lenovo’s recent woes with installing flawed bloatware on its systems, this “clean” version of Windows 10 should give potential buyers a little more peace of mind.

The most noticeable change to the new ThinkPads will appear on the surface. In addition to its iconic black chassis, select Lenovo business laptops will finally be available in a silver finish. A nod to younger buyers who might not like the staid black ThinkPads of yore (and their overworked parents)?

Looking to get a jump on the forthcoming deluge of CES news, Acer has released a new all-in-one PC family that adds a couple of interesting wrinkles to the popular desktop category.

With the Aspire C Series, Acer delivers an improved all-in-one (AIO) design while retaining a budget price point. It’s worked to create a sleeker look for its full HD display, either in a 21.5-inch (Aspire C 22) or 23.8-inch (C 24) size, by reducing bezel thickness to 0.31 inches (roughly 8mm) and offer either a chrome or gold color choice. (In comparison, Microsoft’s new Surface Studio all-in-one possesses a 12.5mm bezel and the Lenovo ThinkCentre X1 AIO has an 11.5mm bezel, though they both possess larger screens. HP has Pavilion all-in-ones with bezels slimmer than 7mm, but at a slightly higher price point.)

The C Series AIOs offer some viewing angle flexibility to their screens as well, allowing you to tilt the display anywhere from -5 to 20 degrees. But befitting their budget price, they lack a touchscreen option and aren’t offered in resolution greater than 1,920×1,080. They are likewise limited in the specs department, with the smaller edition’s base configuration including an Intel Celeron J3160 processor, 4GB of RAM, and 500GB hard drive, while the base model of the 23.8-inch version doubling the RAM and hard drive space and upgrading to an Intel Core i3-6100U processor. Neither CPU would be confused with a high-performance chip, however, and neither C Series AIO offers discrete graphics or a built-in DVD drive.

But the systems do offer an interesting twist when it comes to operating system. Of course, you get the usual Windows 10 option, but Acer is also providing the choice of FreeDOS or Linpus Simple Linux as a pre-installed OS instead. While these aren’t typical options from mainstream AIO manufacturers, it’s not completely out of the ordinary for Acer, which has released all-in-ones running Google’s Chrome OS in the past.

No matter which OS you choose, the C Series is designed not to break the bank. The C 22 starts at $449.99, whereas the bigger, better-equipped C 24 has a correspondingly higher starting price of $699.99. Both editions are available now at select online retailers.

A version running Google’s Chrome OS could join the Windows and Android editions of the Lenovo Yoga Book 2-in-1.

Lenovo has a critical darling on its hands with the Yoga Book, a 2-in-1 hybrid that uses a “Create Pad” instead of a traditional laptop keyboard. That feature — which allows the user to switch easily between typing and pen input modes (including writing directly on paper that’s converted to digital data) — has helped the convertible device receive glowing reviews.

The Yoga Book is also a bit different because it not only comes in the expected Windows version, but also a model that runs Google’s Android OS. That’s naturally led people to wonder why Lenovo hasn’t released an edition using Google’s other OS — Chrome — which is more typically found on laptops. The company’s response: Wait a little longer.

Jeff Meredith, general manager and vice president of Lenovo’s Android and Chrome Computing Business Group. told Tom’s Guide, Lenovo will be launching a Chrome Yoga Book by the middle of next year. And in the future, Meredith says the Yoga Book could evolve to run whatever mashup of Android and Chrome Google is apparently developing as a single OS going forward: “Over time, we probably see the Android and Chrome versions melding together, especially based on the fact that we’ve now seen Chrome roll out the Google Play store capability into Chrome.”

A Yoga Book running Chrome would probably become the most interesting Chromebook on the market. While there are other 2-in-1 Chromebooks, including the Asus Chromebook Flip and Lenovo’s own Yoga 11e, none has the Create Pad functionality. Unlike many other Chromebooks, however, it won’t be cheap: the Android Yoga Book, for instance, starts at $499, more than $100 pricier than the Yoga 11e Chromebook.

Despite the accolades, Meredith disclosed that sales for the two currently available Yoga Books are “just average,” perhaps due in part to Lenovo’s decision to sell it exclusively through Walmart in the U.S. The company plans to add more retailers to the Yoga Book mix next year; we’ll have to see if that and a Yoga Book Chrome will help to boost sales of a device ZDNet’s own Sandra Vogel called “a reinvention of the tablet format.”

Cyber Monday still doesn’t have the notoriety of Black Friday, but its origins as a way for online retailers to cash in on holiday shopping dollars has ironically dulled the popularity of the day after Thanksgiving. It might not have the eye-popping doorbusters required to get people in the doors, but often it offers better savings for consumers. If you’re still looking to buy a new tablet, laptop, or desktop, here are some of the best Cyber Monday deals we could find.

Tablets

Deals on Apple’s iPads were hard enough to find on Black Friday, and they’re are even fewer for Cyber Monday. Walmart does have some savings on select models, such as iPad mini 4 and the iPad Pro (both 9.7-inch and 12.9-inch editions), while Best Buy is promising “great prices on select iPad models,” though these appear to be tablets with 4G LTE connectivity that require a cellular contract. (According to The Wirecutter, using the code IPADPRODEAL will get you a $125 discount on all iPad Pro 9.7-inch configurations.) Regional retailer Hhgregg is also slashing prices on the iPad Pro ($50 less for the base 9.7-inch version and $70 off for the 12.9-inch one), and has the iPad mini 2 for $229, or $40 off the regular price. If you don’t mind a discontinued model, Staples has the 16GB iPad mini 3 for $299. Target is taking 15 percent off everything, so you’d get roughly $60 off the iPad Air 2 32GB configuration and $75 off the one with 128GB of storage.

Amazon continues to sweep up the low end of the tablet market as it maintains its $33.33 price on its 7-inch Fire tablet, which retailers like Best Buy and Staples are also offering. Best Buy joins Amazon itself in selling the 8-inch Fire HD for $59.99. Samsung Galaxy Tab models continue to receive the same across-the-board discount they got over Black Friday, while Walmart is taking $199 off the regular $1,599 price for the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 with Intel Core i7 processor, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of solid-state storage.

Laptops

As I mentioned the other day, the $100 PCs that deal prognosticators expected over the last couple of Black Fridays have turned out to be few and far between. That trend continues on Cyber Monday, though budget laptop buyers have plenty of choices between $100 and $200. As mentioned above, Target’s 15 percent site-wide discount knocks a trio of the laptops it’s selling (a pair of Chromebooks along with a Windows 10 notebook) under $150. But there are plenty of other options, such as a pair of $149 laptops at Walmart: the Samsung Chromebook 3 and the Windows 10-running Lenovo N22.

CNET

Check out CNET’s 2016 holiday gift guide for expert advice, reviews, and recommendations for you and your family.

Other low-cost Cyber Monday laptops include the HP Stream laptop at Office Depot for $169.99, the Asus Transformer Book 2-in-1 at Newegg for $159.99, the Lenovo Ideapad 110s at Best Buy for $169.99, and an Asus Chromebook with 4GB of RAM instead of the usual 2 gigs at B&H Photo for $169. But the best price of all could come from Dell, who is selling its own Inspiron 14 3000 for just $129 starting at 2 p.m. on Cyber Monday. Note that many of these bargain notebook have basic specs, such as just 2GB of RAM, 32GB of built-in storage, and/or a smaller 11.6-inch display, whether they’re Chromebooks or running Windows 10.

If you’re looking to spend (a lot more) for one of Apple’s laptops on Cyber Monday, Best Buy will knock $150 off all MacBook configurations it sells — that is, the specific MacBook notebook, not all lines. Otherwise, B&H Photo is your best bet, taking $100 off the base MacBook Air configuration and $160 off the step-up model with double the storage. It also matches Best Buy’s discount on the MacBook, and even knocks $100 off the recently refreshed MacBook Pro, though only cheaper versions without the new Touch Bar.

Desktops

You’ll generally have to spend a little more than on a laptop to get a desktop special on Cyber Monday,, though Office Depot/OfficeMax is taking $54.01 to $61 off HP’s Chromebox, selling the mini-PC running Google Chrome for as little as $134.99. You’ll have to go over $200 to score some other deals, however, such as an Asus 21.5-inch all-in-one PC for $249, the HP Slimline 260-a010 or HP 251-a126 each for $249.99 at Staples, or a Dell Inspiron 3252 for $279 at Walmart. Dell itself doesn’t offer as good a special on a desktop as it has for its laptop, but it does have an Inspiron tower with AMD A10 processor, 8GB of RAM, and terabyte hard drive for $299.99 as a noon Cyber Monday doorbuster. Those specs are beefier than those cheaper desktop deals, which often come with Intel Celeron or Pentium processors, 4GB of RAM, and less hard drive space.

Once again, B&H Photo appears to be a good option for discounts on Apple Mac desktops. You can get $70 off the base Mac mini, or $100 off the mid-tier configuration that’s normally $699. It’s also cutting $100 from the base 21.5-inch iMac, and $150 off the base iMac with Retina 4k display or the 27-inch base iMac with Retina 5k display. It’s Mac Pro deal is only on the $3,999 configuration, though you will save $300 off the regular price.

Best Buy has a number of Black Friday deals on Apple MacBook laptops and iMac desktops.

[Update: Apple once again zigs where others zag, giving out store gift cards as its Black Friday special rather than reducing prices. You will get a $150 Apple gift card with the purchase of most Macs, though the new MacBook Pro is a notable exception. Mac Mall has also released its Black Friday deals, which take various amounts off numerous Mac configurations such as $127 off the base MacBook if you choose rose gold. It also offers $270 off the base Mac Pro and $360 off the step-up config, both the lowest prices we’ve seen on those systems.]

Apple isn’t big on discounting, especially when it comes to its computers, which remain much higher priced than most Windows PCs. As hard as it’s getting to find iPad specials on Black Friday, it’s even harder to locate sales for MacBooks and iMacs. If you’re set on buying a Mac during this shopping holiday, however, there are a handful of deals we’ve tracked down below.

We’ll be updating this when and if new deals arise. Also note that some of these sales won’t be available online, or will be gone quickly, so you may have to endure all of the pain of Black Friday shopping to snatch one up.

Apple MacBook Air

Apple’s cheapest laptop, relatively speaking, is now limited to a 13.3-inch version, as the 11-inch model has been discontinued. Best Buy takes $200 off the base configuration, lowering the price to $799. It also knocks the same amount offer the $1,199 version with double the solid-state storage, as does regional retailer Fry’s. If you want to upgrade to a Core i7 processor, B&H Photo takes anywhere from $100 to $200 off, depending on the specific configuration.

Apple MacBook

The most design-conscious Apple laptop gets little discount love from Best Buy, which is selling it at the regular price. You’ll have to rely on Amazon and B&H, both of which take $100 off the two basic models (regular prices of $1,299 and $1,599, respectively) and B&H knocking $150 off the pricier configuration with a Core m7 processor update.

Apple MacBook Pro

Apple just updated its pro-level laptop, which means you aren’t likely to see deals on the controversial refresh that are more than a few dollars off. Again, the exceptions are Amazon and B&H Photo, both of which cut $100 from the base 13-inch version. B&H Photo also offers discounts ranging from $100 to $200 on additional 13-inch configurations, but does not offer any specials on the 15-inch MacBook Pro. On the other hand, there will be plenty of price cuts on the now-discontinued configurations, so if you don’t want the latest and greatest MacBook Pro, this is your chance to save on older hardware.

Apple Mac mini

The least expensive Mac of all, the diminuitive mini hasn’t been updated in a while, and doesn’t receive much in the way of discounts. Best Buy has deals that take a smidge off the price of the base $499 version ($37 off) and the step-up version ($29 off), but you’ll have better luck through Amazon, which takes $70 off either the base config or the most expensive model (normally $999). B&H matches Amazon’s savings, but slashes $100 from the middle $699 edition.

Apple iMac

Apple’s popular all-in-one has three distinct versions currently available (21.5-inch, 21.5-inch with Retina 4k display, 27-inch with Retina 5k display), all of which have deals available from the same sources as above. Best Buy has the best price on the cheapest version, the 21.5-inch system that normally runs $1,099 receives a $200 discount. In comparison, B&H only offers $100 off, but does take $120 away from the $1,299 configuration price. It also does a little better on the base Retina 4k iMac, chopping $150 off the $1,499 price whereas Best Buy offers $100 off.

Amazon joins the other two retailers in discounting the Retina 5k base model by $200, knocking the price down to $1,599. Best Buy also has sales on the other 5k configurations, taking $100 from the mid-range edition and $156 from the top-end one. You’ll have better luck at B&H, though, as it takes $170 and $250 off, respectively, from the same models.

Apple Mac Pro

You don’t buy a Mac Pro if you’re looking to save money, but just because you can spend at least $2,999 on a computer doesn’t mean you wouldn’t appreciate a discount if you can get it. Amazon and B&H take a hundred bucks off the base model’s price — Best Buy offered the same price cut, but is sold out online — while B&H slices $300 off the pricier edition that regularly costs $3,999.

Apple iPad deals are less numerous this Black Friday, but the Pro tablet is an exception.

As I mentioned the other day, the Apple iPad is no longer the draw it once was on Black Friday, as stores fell all over themselves trying to get shoppers in the doors to buy a new tablet. It does remain a staple item in many ads, however, and many iPads will still be purchased during this shopping holiday. If you’re in the market for one, you don’t have to pay full price — here’s where you can find the best iPad deals for Black Friday 2016.

We’ll be updating this when and if new deals arise. Also note that many of these sales won’t be available online, or will be gone quickly, so you’ll probably have to endure all of the pain of Black Friday shopping to snatch one up.

Apple iPad mini 2

The venerable 7.9-inch mini 2 remains Apple’s cheapest tablet, though at $269, it’s still hardly cheap. Black Friday gives you the opportunity to shave a little off that price, as Walmart is selling it for $199. As is often the case, once one retailer announces its sale price, others match, so Target has a nearly identical price at $199.794.

Apple iPad mini 4

At the moment, Apple’s step-up tiny tablet (better camera, faster processor) has no deals we can find, perhaps indicating how little appeal a $399 7.9-inch tablet possesses in 2016. Maybe as part of Apple’s Black Friday plans it will receive a discount, so stay tuned.

Apple iPad Air 2

Apple’s current mainstream tablet features a 9.7-inch Retina display and A8X processor for its usual $399 base price, but you should head to Best Buy or Target to get $125 off that price during Black Friday. If you want a different model (128GB and/or cellular connectivity), Best Buy extends that $125 savings to all Air 2 versions.

Apple iPad Pro (9.7-inch)

One of the surprises of the current Black Friday is that Apple’s professional tablet is receiving as many as deals as its non-professional brethren. Perhaps the iPad Pro is feeling heat from Microsoft’s Surface device — regardless, there are savings to be had. Target is the most aggressive, offering the base 9.7-inch model for just $449, or $150 off the everyday price. Best Buy can’t match that discount, but it is offering $125 off all 9.7-inch Pro editions for those who want to upgrade from the base version’s paltry 32GB of built-in storage. B&H Photo also has a couple of intriguing deals on the smaller Pro if you want it in rose gold with 4G LTE capabilities: $529, or $200 off, for a 32GB unit or $749 for a 256GB tablet.

Apple iPad Pro (12.9-inch)

Discounts are a little less aggressive on the original, larger iPad Pro. If you want the base 32GB model, you can find it for a $70 discount from its $799 regular price at Walmart, B&H, and also regional retailer Hhgregg. You can get the same savings on the 128GB edition from B&H and Hhgregg. Walmart is slashing the price if you want cellular connectivity options: $130 off the 128GB gold tablet and over $135 off the 256GB version